Poetry Tips: Close but no Cigar

Those of us who submit our poetry will often face rejections, but then there are those rejections you should pay special attention to: The ones with personalized notes saying you were close, or that you almost made it, and/or “please try again.” I recently received such a notice and I was elated, it was my first time submitting a chapbook manuscript and I almost made it! Sure, I was a little disappointed but then I realized the odds and was happy I got as far as I did and I’ll definitely try to submit again to the same place—but I hope to add some new ones to it if possible so it isn’t the exact same manuscript. I urge you all to save those “almost made it” notes to spur you forward because you are well on your way to publication. Take them out when you feel as though you don’t have what it takes in order to remind yourself that you do.

Good luck to all of you in your poetic endeavors, please drop in again next week…

AGNI Open Submissions

Even though you can submit on-line using their website you can also submit by mail so I’ve copy-and-pasted their guidelines:
Please:
• Address your submission to Fiction Editor, Poetry Editor, or Nonfiction Editor. Translations and essays are welcomed.
• Send no more than one story, one essay, or five poems at a time. We have no word limits, but generally the longer a piece is, the better it needs to be to justify taking up so much space in the magazine. We will consider novel excerpts provided that they are cohesive enough to stand alone.

• Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) if you would like us to return your submission. Envelopes that are too small or have insufficient postage for a manuscript’s return will get our response, but the manuscript will be recycled. If you do not require the return of your manuscript and would like to be notified by email, please indicate clearly an email address where we can contact you (and skip the SASE).

• Familiarize yourself with AGNI by ordering a recent print issue or by perusing the work that appears online. This site includes selected pieces from the latest print AGNIs (e.g., 65 and 66), current web-only work, and archived fiction, poetry, and essays from both AGNI and AGNI Online.

Some Notes:
• WE DO NOT READ SUBMISSIONS SENT BY EMAIL; please submit online or send your manuscript to the mailing address below.

• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us immediately if the work we are considering has been accepted elsewhere.

• Manuscripts mailed between June 1st and August 31st will be RETURNED UNREAD, provided sufficient postage is included. These dates do not apply to subscribers, whose mailed submissions the editors will read year-round.

• While we endeavor to deal with each submission quickly and fairly, we cannot, due to the overwhelming number of submissions, accept responsibility for your manuscript. Do not send us your only copy.

WHERE to send:
Manuscripts should be addressed to the Fiction Editor, Poetry Editor, or Nonfiction Editor at:
AGNI Magazine
Boston University
236 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215

Please also visit their website for more details:
http://www.bu.edu/agni/submit.html

Good luck to all who submit, please drop by tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.juked.com/2011/01/thefutilityzoo.asp
“The Futility Zoo” by Laurie Barton

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15506
“The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy

Thanks for clicking in, please drop by tomorrow for more Open Submissions…

Lilliput Review Issue #178

This latest collection includes poems about poems, late evenings and moonlight, and Zen filled moments. As always, I enjoyed a great many poems and can only share a small portion, I hope you enjoy them:


I forget the words
yet I remember the poem,

it is what carried me away from here
in the first place.

By: Charlie Mehrhoff of Oakland, Maine

The first two lines definitely struck a chord with me, how about you? Often you can remember a poem but not all of its exact words. The second two lines give it a sense of adventure, a poem that beckoned across the miles for you to explore outside your daily comfort zone. Thank you, Mr. Mehrhoff, for a short poem that hits the proverbial nail on the head.



the face
I prepared
collapsed
the firmness slipped
and Buddha crept in

By: Sanford Goldstein from Shibata-Shi, Japan

I picture a face hardened by life, then softened by the teachings of Buddha. I imagine enlightenment shining from the poet’s eyes.



old tombstone—

“life is long/eternity short”
reading it twice

By: John Elsberg of Arlington, Virginia


Yes, I too, read this twice. Then I read it again. Such a vivid picture and insight in so few words, don’t you agree? You cannot help but wonder how the phrase “life is long/eternity short” came into being from the loved ones honoring their departed. Food for thought, don’t you agree?


I hope you enjoyed a short sample of this issue, each issue is $1.00 for those of you who would like a copy for yourself.
Don Wentworth’s blog, titled Issa’s Untidy Hut, allows visitors to listen to rock music, learn about poetry, and gives us the opportunity to subscribe to his journal or purchase the latest chapbook. It’s a wonderful site and the comments section is always enjoyable to read. Please visit using the link below:

http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/

Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Monostitch Poet Blog

Grant Hackett sent me a link to his new blog, he writes wonderful one-line poems and they often appear in Lilliput Review so you may have seen his poems there and on Poet Hound before. Please check out his blog at:

http://monostichpoet.blogspot.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please drop in tomorrow for another featured journal…